Politics
In view of the forthcoming budget preparation in the cities and municipalities, there is an alarm mood: A gap of at least 1.2 billion euros is expected across Austria. The situation is dramatic, they say. They’re asking for money from the federal government.
Cities and municipalities are currently negotiating with the federal government to compensate for inflation, which will be reflected in the municipal budgets. In Lower Austria there is talk of a “dramatic situation”. St. Pölten’s SPÖ mayor Matthias Stadler, who is also chairman of the Lower Austrian Association of Cities, speaks of a need of up to 20 million euros in order to be able to continue to maintain the existing services in the state capital. According to Stadler, expenditure would increase twice as much as income.
His deputy from the ÖVP, Mayor Werner Krammer from Waidhofen an der Ybbs, takes the same line. The situation is “absolutely dramatic,” he says. The increases in energy and personnel costs would overwhelm the municipalities. In addition, there is the childcare package with investments by the municipalities, which would not be possible in view of this situation, according to Krammer.
Demand: 200 euros per inhabitant
Calculations by the Center for Administrative Research (KDZ) showed at the end of September that the municipalities will be short of up to 1.2 billion euros in the coming year. According to Rupert Dworak, President of the SPÖ community representatives and Mayor of Ternitz (Neunkirchen district), this requirement is the absolute lower limit. He speaks of an Austria-wide additional requirement of up to two billion euros. Dworak is therefore demanding direct payments of 200 euros per inhabitant in order to avert the worst, as he says.
He does not want to give specific figures, says Johannes Pressl, President of the Lower Austrian ÖVP Association of Municipalities and Mayor of Ardagger (Amstetten district), especially since the forecasts are constantly changing. He is hoping for positive results from the negotiations with the finance minister, and there are corresponding signals. The Austrian Association of Municipalities also refers to these negotiations, which confirms the view of the situation, but does not want to anticipate the talks.
At the same time, the Lower Austrian community representatives are also negotiating with the state of Lower Austria. According to Pressl, talks with Finance Minister Ludwig Schleritzko (ÖVP) are ongoing.
